Candidates cut caucuses
As candidates drop out of the election, students discuss their presidential options.
Posted on January 17, 2008
As presidential election coverage begins to saturate the news, students are becoming increasingly tuned in to the slowly shrinking list of major party candidates.
The political season kicked off with the Jan. 3 caucus in Iowa and the Jan. 8 primary in New Hampshire. Results have been across the board and currently there is no clear frontrunner in either party.
Political junkies aside, students are treating the media coverage and the primary and caucus process with caution as they work on forming their own opinions.
“I haven’t paid much attention to the primaries,” junior Aaron Jeschke said. “Most of the coverage is just about numbers.”
Other students are eager to participate but are wary about the current choice of possible candidates.
“I’m planning on participating in the Virginia primary,” senior Nick Belcher said. “But overall, none (of the candidates) make me feel great. Now I’m looking for the lesser of two evils.”
Other students have been utilizing tools such as the recent presidential debates while trying to make their decision.
“My opinion was formed early on,” junior Colleen Mahoney said. “Although, recently I’ve been hearing about the debates.”
A common thread among people at JMU seems to be a lack of allegiance to the major parties for this particular election.
“I think what’s interesting is that this election makes me consider both parties,” staff member Misty Newman said. “I’ve never been sold either way.”
Students that normally vote a certain way are considering different options for 2008.
“I’m normally more of a Republican,” Belcher said. “This election, the lines are getting blurred.”
Other students interviewed had a candidate in mind but didn’t necessarily seem sold on casting their vote for them.
“I’m independent and have a lot of different views,” said freshman Stephanie Parker.
“I’m from New York so I’m rooting for Giuliani even though it won’t happen.”
Belcher originally looked to Giuliani as well but seems dismayed by some of his tactics.
“Giuliani is definitely trying to ride on 9/11,” Belcher said. “I want a person who responds well to a crisis but I don’t want to always be in a time of crisis for the person to perform well.”
Some students confessed a lack of confidence when looking at the wide field of available candidates, which now includes 12 candidates.
“I’m having trouble finding a candidate I like,” Jeschke said. “I definitely look at issues when I’m considering candidates. Fiscal and social issues are both important to me.”
Issues remained a recurrent theme as students reiterated topics that mean something to them.
“Education is really important to me because my parents are teachers,” Belcher said. “The war in Iraq has definitely gone on too long but we can’t just pull out, we need a solution.”
Despite his reliance on the issues, Belcher is confident that he will wait until after the nomination process is complete before he picks someone to support.
“I’m not going to pick one now and then abandon them when they don’t get the nomination,” Belcher said. “I’m going to keep a watchful eye on them, but there’s no need to really back anyone right now.”
An increasing number of students are joining Belcher, ignoring the media hype and choosing a candidate later in the election.
“This is the first time I’ll be able to vote, especially in a presidential election,” junior Colleen Mahoney said. “As it gets closer and they decide on the nominees, I’ll do more research on the candidates and their issues and choose the one for me.”
This article is the second in a four-part series that will examine how members of the JMU community feel about the issues raised in the upcoming presidential election. Check back in the middle of February for the next installment.
